Butternut Squash Salad with Orange Dressing

Butternut Squash Salad with Orange Dressing is a perfect healthy fall recipe that is packed with nutrients.

Is it just me, or you have the same feeling of excitement for Fall to arrive? The start of this season brings a whole new collection of recipes to cook and bake, even though we still look back to the warm sunny days of Summer, wishing they could stay for just a little bit longer.

At this moment, we have a transitional time. It’s a bit too late to post summer recipes, and still slightly early to share Fall comfort food dishes. Although the season of popsicles and strawberry shortcakes is over, everybody is starting to get excited for soups, stews, and butternut squash dishes.

Talking about butternut squash, I’ve recently made a salad that is well received during both seasons. For the Fall lovers, it has soft and sweet roasted butternut squash and pepitas. If you are still craving Summer, kale and orange dressing will allow for a light and zesty combination. To compliment and bring together both flavors, I’ve added a little bit of goat cheese which has a beautiful crumbly texture and savory taste.

In my opinion, butternut squash is a magic vegetable which can make any comfort food healthier. Any soup, pasta, stuffing, stew, or many other traditional fall recipes marvelously turn into healthier versions of their old classic dishes. No need to say it, this Butternut Squash Salad is packed with nutrients thanks to all the incorporated ingredients.

There are a couple of things which I would like to mention before you start to make this salad.

I like to roast butternut squash right before serving the salad, so it is still warm. It takes about 20-25 minutes to bake at 400°F, depending on the size of the cubed pieces. I usually cut mine in 1-inch cubes, season with salt and pepper, cover with olive oil, and bake. After it is in the oven for about 10 minutes, take it out, toss well (so all the sides will get that beautiful golden color) and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes.

Before chopping kale, make sure you cut out the stems, as they are too hard to eat.

When you make the vinaigrette, add all the ingredients in a mason jar and give it a good shake. Taste it and season with salt and pepper. I like my dressing to be light and zesty. However, if you like yours a little bit spicier and tart, feel free to play around with the ingredient proportions. Adding more Dijon mustard give a kick.

Butternut Squash Salad with Orange Dressing is a perfect healthy fall recipe that is packed with nutrients.

Servings: 4people

Author: Veronika's Kitchen

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Butternut Squash Salad:

3cupsbutternut squash, cubed

salt, pepper to taste

1 tablespoonolive oil

1large bunch Kale, de-stemmed and chopped

1/4cuppepitas

1/4cupdried cranberries

1/3cupgoat cheese, crumbled

Ingredients for the Orange Dressing:

1orange, zest and juice

1/3cupolive oil

2teaspoonsDijon mustard

1tablespoonhoney

salt, pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Dice peeled and seeded butternut squash into 1-inch cubes and put it on a baking sheet. Add salt and pepper, olive oil, toss it well and bake for 10 minutes. Take it out of the oven, toss it again and bake for another 10-15 minutes until softened.

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Veronika's Kitchen

Hi and welcome to my food blog, Veronika’s Kitchen!
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